


First Impressions

by Brenda



Category: Takers (2010)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 13:32:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brenda/pseuds/Brenda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Ghost prided himself on being the type of person that liked knowing shit, or figuring shit out.  Knowledge, man, that was key.  That was true power right there.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mumble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mumble/gifts).



**Eight years before the armored car heist...**

 

Kid had some great big brass balls, Ghost had to give him that. Wasn't every day someone could get the drop on him, let alone him _and_ Gordon. Yet here they was, in the middle of an empty church in Riverside, of all the fucked up places to be, having themselves a gen-u-ine Mexican Standoff with one very pretty (if a dude went for that sort of thing) tall, blond, lanky drink of water, who'd come around the corner of the altar and had drawn on them slicker and faster 'n shit. Cat _had_ to be ex-military. Only people Ghost had ever seen move that fast were AJ and Jake and this kid had them beat cold.

Still, Ghost didn't flinch or hesitate or drop the barrel of his Glock. Never show fear. Fear was for lesser men and Ghost had far too much fucking ambition to be anything other than goddamn _great_. He was gonna be king of the mountain or die trying. And if he had to take out some crazy white boy who wouldn't put his 9mm down, so be it. Wouldn't be the first time he'd had to put someone down.

"I said, who the fuck are you?" the kid repeated, those ocean blue eyes of his cold and flat and unwavering. He was standing at a distance where neither Gordon nor Ghost could make a move without giving themselves away, and the two guns he had trained on them didn't move by so much as an inch. Dude may have looked like a homeless teenager in his baggy jeans and too-large hoodie, but his demeanor was about as merciless as it got.

Ghost could appreciate that kinda attitude in a man.

Gordon raised his free hand up in a gesture of peace. "Look, no one's here to jam you up, mate. We're not here to cause any trouble."

The kid's gaze raked over Gordon – who was tricked out as usual in a three piece suit and tie – in one long, borderline contemptuous slide. "I'm not your fucking mate, _mate_. Now who are you and who sent you? Because if you two're Billy's idea of muscle, tell him he can go fuck himself."

"Billy didn't send us. I swear. We don't even know who that is." Gordon's voice was the sort of soothing Ghost associated with taming wild animals. Ghost usually only heard Gordon sound like that when he was trying to calm his sister down off one of her highs. "What's your name?"

"John."

"Alright, John, I'm Gordon and that's my associate, Ghost. Now, we're gonna put our guns away nice and slow as a show of good faith, a'ight, and maybe we can chat for a bit, get this whole thing sorted before someone gets hurt."

Gordon gestured at Ghost, and even though it flew in the face of every muthafuckin' one of his instincts, he lowered his weapon at the same time Gordon did and put it away. John tracked the movement with his eyes, but was perfectly still otherwise. Not even so much as a twitch. It was kinda creepy cool.

"I bet you was in the Army, right?" Ghost asked, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. Ghost prided himself on being the type of person that liked _knowing_ shit, or figuring shit out. Knowledge, man, that was key. That was true power right there. "You remind me a lot of these ex-military cats we roll with." In fact, this John dude even _looked_ a little like A.J. Not quite like they could be brothers, but definitely related. Maybe first cousins or some shit.

"Marines," John corrected. "Delta Force."

Ghost and Gordon shared a quick look, and Ghost nodded his respect. "That's some heavy duty shit right there, man."

"Yeah, well, Special Forces isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now why are you here?"

"We need a new wheelman for a job we're planning," Gordon replied, still in that same soothing tone. Ghost was sure Gordon could put babies to sleep talking like that. "Bloke we know named Casey sent us here to talk to some bloke named Rahway about securing someone."

"Well, shit, why didn't you say so." John grinned, showing a surprisingly charming, Hollywood-white smile, and tucked both guns back into the pockets of his hoodie. "Have a seat, gentlemen," he said, and gestured at the pew next to him. Ghost and Gordon both brushed past him to take a seat.

"You know where we can find this wheelman?" Ghost asked, confused, once they were settled.

"I _am_ the wheelman. John Rahway at your service."

"No offense, but aren't you a little young?" Gordon asked, giving John a skeptical look. "Job we're looking to do requires some very precision driving."

"You'd be surprised at the skill set you can acquire by working for Uncle Sam." John grinned again. "What do you need and when?"

Ghost made a time out motion with his hands. "Hold on now, white boy, how do we even know you're for real and legit? Or that you ain't a cop?"

"I ain't a cop, and if you need me to prove that to you, you can head out the way you came in," John shrugged, then fixed that unwavering gaze right back on Gordon. "But if you need proof of my skills, give me thirty seconds and meet me outside."

Ghost could tell that Gordon was still doubtful as hell, but all he did was offer a shrug of his own. "Alright. Dazzle us."

The wink John sent Gordon's way was just short of being outright flirtatious. "I specialize in dazzle."

***

Outside was the massive parking lot in front of the church, probably only saw any action on Sundays or for a wedding or christening or something. Gordon and Ghost, after the requisite thirty seconds, stepped out onto the stairs that led out to the lot, and Ghost had to let out a small chuckle when he heard the low rumble of a four-wheel drive right before John sped around a corner and onto the lot.

"Hey, man, ain't that your ride?" Ghost asked, tickled absolutely pink by the look on Gordon's face. This John dude had some _serious_ balls with a capital B to go stealing a man's wheels right from under his nose, then flaunt that shit. Ghost was warming up to this dude more and more.

"Yeah, it is," Gordon replied. He was shaking his head, but Ghost could see the small smile that meant he was impressed. He knew all of G's little ticks and tells after so long, just as Gordon knew all of his. It was one reason they were so good together as a crew, and why they was so successful at what they did.

They stood there and watched as John put the Range Rover through its paces, and it was quickly apparent that John was better than good behind the wheel – he was an artist. He made the Rover move in ways Ghost had never seen, and even though Ghost knew it was easy to maneuver around in an empty lot, he could definitely picture John in traffic or using some of those slick moves to get rid of a tail or to shake off a patrol car. 

"If he can read a map and memorize routes as well as he drives, we might be onto something," Gordon commented, after John made another tricky turn, then stopped on a dime to shift into full-speed reverse.

"You know A.J.'s gonna pout if we bring anyone home that's better looking than him, right?"

"The competition'll do him good," Gordon replied, with a wry smile. "But I still think this bloke's too young."

"He don't act like he's too young," Ghost pointed out, then elbowed Gordon lightly in the ribs. "Besides, he's legal enough, if you catch me."

"Lilli'll kill you."

"Nah, she'd just insist on being in the middle," Ghost chuckled. "But he don't seem too into _me_."

Gordon shot him a questioning look, but just then John stopped the Rover, and got out from behind the wheel.

"How'd it only take you thirty seconds to wire it?" Gordon asked, once John was close enough.

"I didn't wire it," John said, and tossed Gordon his keys with a wide, shit-eating grin that was more blinding than the sun overhead. "But I probably could if I had to."

Gordon stared down at his keyring for a second, then lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow upwards. "I'm not gonna ask how you got these out of my pocket without me feeling it."

"Good, because I wouldn't tell you even if you did. When I want you to notice me feeling you up, you will." John gave Gordon another one of those outrageous-enough-to-be-flirtatious winks, then turned to Ghost. "Did I pass the audition?"

"Yeah," Ghost laughed, "yeah, man, you passed. Give us your digits, and we'll definitely be in touch."

John held out his hand and waited for Gordon to drop his cell phone into John's palm. His fingers flew across the keys as he put in his number, and Ghost noticed that he took his sweet ass time giving the phone back to Gordon. He also noticed Gordon didn't exactly object to the lingering touch.

"Next planning meet's probably in about a week or so, so don't expect to hear from us until then," Gordon added. "We don't decide on anything without the full crew."

"It's a good strategy," John replied, with a nod. "The best crews should have a hive mind and all that."

 _"One arrow alone can be easily broken, but many arrows are indestructible_ ," Ghost quoted, and cocked his head when John just laughed. "Something funny?"

"Just you quoting Genghis Khan," John replied, with this sort of half-smile like he laughed at a lot of shit the rest of the world didn't get. 

"Now I _am_ impressed." Most people they ran with had no idea who Genghis even was, let alone recognized his sayings. There was definitely more to this kid than met the eye.

"And now that we've established you're more than just a pretty face," Gordon said, and gestured at John's clothing, "how well do you clean up?"

"I'm more of a Varvatos man than Brioni – that is Brioni, right?" John asked, and nodded when Gordon did "– but I can rock a suit, no worries. You need me to blend in on Wall Street, I've got your back."

"Excellent. Keep your phone turned on, and we'll give you a call," Gordon said, and if the handshake John and Gordon gave each other lasted a few beats too long, Ghost wasn't gonna call attention to it if they didn't.

However, it didn't stop him from mentioning it when he and Gordon were on their way back to L.A. "You two seemed to click."

"He seems like a decent bloke," Gordon replied, giving him a quick glance. "I'm not saying he needs to be a permanent member of the crew, but I like him."

"Yeah, I got that you like him." That much had been obvious. "I'm just saying I didn't think you and Jake was in any sort of competition, but it seems to me since Jake came back from the Army with a white boy for a pet, now you seem like you want one, too. Is that what this is?"

"It's not like that."

"I don't know, man, you two was giving off an awful lot of sparks." 

"I think he's good with cars and weapons and can be an asset on this job. And that's it." Only Gordon's tight grip on the steering wheel betrayed his annoyance.

"I think you fell for them pretty blue eyes and dat ass in those jeans is what I think," Ghost said, then held up both hands in a gesture of surrender when Gordon shot him a _very_ unamused look. "All I'm saying, homes, is you family. I _got_ you on this, a'ight. If you want him on the crew, then he's there, done."

"Jake and Jesse and A.J. still need to approve it," Gordon reminded him. "I'm not just gonna bring him in without at least talking to the rest of the guys about it."

"You let me worry about them. They give me a hard time, you know I can always put Lilli on the case. She's gonna love John, and we both know Jake's got a sweet spot for my girl." Hell, Jake was half in love with her, but it was all good. Ghost didn't mind, as long as looking and admiring was all Jake was doing. "'Sides, I like that this John cat's a cool one under pressure. We need that. Jake gets wound a little too tight sometimes and having someone like John around'll be a nice counter-balance."

"I think he could be, yeah," Gordon agreed. He looked more relaxed, which was good. A relaxed Gordon meant a Gordon that was focused on the big picture and leaving the details and shit in Ghost's hands, where they needed to be. "If you think John's a good fit..."

"I think you think he's a good fit, and I know _you_ know what I mean by that," Ghost grinned, unrepentant and wide. "But I also think we can use him. So, yeah, you got my blessing to bring him on board."

"You only like him because he likes quoting the same Art of War shit you do."

"Gotta learn from the kings of old to live like one," Ghost said, because truth was truth. And Ghost had definite ambitions to be a king.

Gordon simply let out a small laugh, and kept his eyes on the road ahead. "Amen to that."

***

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Jo for the beta.


End file.
